Strawberry Picking
by KeyQuis
Summary: A ONE SHOT. A cute and funny story for HayateHimeno. Hayate still hasn't confessed yet, but he's in luck because one fateful day, Himeno picks strawberries for him his favourite in hopes to confess her feelings first. Enjoy.


Strawberry Picking

Disclaimer: Pretear is created by Kaori Naruse and Junichi Satou. I had no part in its creation

Italics=thoughts

Foreword: During my 'break' from studying, I made a random sketch of Himeno punching Hayate x in my notebook. I thought for a moment, why would she do that after they got together? I drew a basket of handpicked strawberries in her hand and his hand trying to reach for the basket. I felt sorry for Hayate and on the reverse side of the page, drew both of them eating the strawberries with whipped cream. Then the story came.

* * *

It was a bright sunny afternoon. Everything was relatively back to normal. The town was still being restored after Fenril's attack. The Awayuki household was nurturing their newfound family bond. The Leafe Knights returned to their everyday lives. Everything was going well...well, except for the ever-so-too-scared-to-tell-her-my-feelings Wind Knight, Hayate. The countless times he tried, he failed miserably. One step forward, ten steps back. Of course he knew he was being a fool to not tell her sooner, before the last battle. Those feelings came out untold. _If there is a miracle called love, let me see her smile once again._

Hayate continued working in the Awayuki's garden after the ordeal. It was the 'best' excuse for his presence to be near her. More than scared, he was nervous whenever the tulip-head grabbed him by the arm unexpectedly and gave him that smile full of life. Hayate knew that he wasn't the wisest guy around girls. Sasame had always fussed about his improper manners towards the female species. _That Sasame, it's much easier for him because he's always the nice guy._ Hayate couldn't help, but feel a little jealous of Sasame who was able to confess his unrequited feelings for Takako, the former Saihi. Hayate continued on tending the tulips.

"Well, if you don't say it soon, someone else might come along and take her away, Hayate. You moron, how long will you hide your feelings even after kissing her without her knowing?" Sasame had said a few days ago. Hayate recalled that scoldful day. Totally humiliated by his fellow knights. Mannen said, " If you're not going to make a move, I will. I'll tell Himeno onee-chan that I love her and steal her away from you." With that, the young ice knight kicked him in the shins and ran off, while sticking out his tongue. _That little brat, I'll get him for that_. Goh and Kei gave him the extreme evil eye. Those two had pestered him to take care of their beloved princess. It wasn't that Hayate hated the idea, but there was just no way to he would confess. He remembered how Shin and Hajime had made him practice saying those three magical words, 'I love you'. Hayate had screwed up every time on the second word.

"ARG! Enough of that!," Hayate shouted out to himself. Thinking back on the last few weeks of scolding was so stressful. Hayate, you have to get yourself together and tell her. Not very hard. Three words. Quick and simple. He recalled his many failed attempts. She was around very often. Bringing him snacks and hanging out with him in the garden. At night, she pleaded him to take her out on a quick flight in the dark sky. She was in his arms. _And I said nothing. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! _All those perfect opportunities. Hayate should have dug himself a hole of shame. Of course, he didn't tell Sasame about all of the missed opportunities. Sasame probably would have stated his feelings over the radio out of pity and frustration like the best friend he was. Hayate tried to distract himself with the garden work. Sigh, too bad all he could think about was Himeno bringing him something cool to drink around this time of day. He smiled to himself. _I'm such a lucky guy. Too bad I'm such an idiot when it comes to my true feelings._ After all, it was Himeno who had opened his heart. _I'll tell her today, even if it kills me_.

Himeno walked out of the kitchen with an empty basket. She was dressed for the weather. Mawata had helped her pick out a nice pink summer dress for confidence in her confession today. _Today, I'll tell that baka that I love him_. Sasame had told her take a chance with the wind knight. Himeno wasn't sure about Hayate's feelings, but she knew she couldn't be too far off from the truth. "We were looking for the Prétear and in this whole world, we found you. I found you," Hayate had said before. He was holding her close to his body. She had heard his heart race. They almost kissed if it weren't for that pop can that startled her. "I'll definitely come back because I have something to tell you," he had said before leaving her to fight Sasame. Hayate had also sacrificed himself to protect her in the end. Himeno remembered her deep sadness. Even when he told her to leave him and save herself, she didn't. There was no way she would leave any of the knights to die, especially not Hayate who had protected her with his life. She didn't remember much about being the White Prétear. One moment she was giving up all of her leife, the next she was lying in a bed of flowers looking up at a worried Hayate. _Hayate, you're so kind and sweet. Your actions speak for you. You don't have to say anything._ "Good luck telling him, Himeno, " Mawata had said in the morning. With that in mind, Himeno ran herself to the strawberries in the garden.

_

* * *

Isn't she late today?_ His conscience was bugging him. Maybe something happened to her. _What if she's not coming anymore because you haven't shown any interest in her._ Hayate told his conscience to shush-up, but it wouldn't. _Aww, your favourite girl isn't on time for the daily snack and stroll. Poor little you. All alone in the garden._ Hayate cleared his mind. He hated it when it was talking like that. His sub-conscience self nagging at him. Even so, he was kind of worried. He dropped his tools and decided to go look for her.

_Goh told me that he likes strawberries._ Himeno had picked a full basket of large ripe strawberries for the both of them for today's snack. She knew she was a little late. Picking the best for the one you love took time. She wanted him to know that she really loved him.

_Strawberries! She's got a whole basket of them. No wonder she was late._ Hayate was hiding in the aisle of blueberries. _Hiding? You fool, go up to her already._ Hayate thought of a greeting plan. _Maybe I'll surprise her by reaching out to the basket from behind._

Himeno walked along the warm path, heading to the tulip section. I hope he's still there. The sweet smell of strawberries was on her. She continued on walking at felt a presence behind her. Instinctively, she turned around and threw out a random punch. Hayate fell backwards and landed in the blueberry bush. Himeno gave a horrified gasp. Hayate looked up and said," Such a violent person. So much brute strength." He was rubbing his bruised cheek. He got up and found squashed blueberries stuck on his back. He was truly in a state of mess of stickiness. Confessing to her looking like this...;. "I'm so sorry Hayate, it was purely by instinct. I didn't mean it on purpose," Himeno said to him," I've got strawberries for you, if it makes you feel better." Hayate smiled at her, "It's okay, Tulip-head. I'll go clean myself off. We can snack by the fountain pond as usual." Himeno looked at him with puppy-dog eyes of sincere apology. Hayate blushed and made haste to go clean himself off. Himeno shouted to him, " Okay, I'll make it up to you, Hayate. I promise." She went to the fountain and sat down. _I'm forgetting something, aren't I? The whipped cream!_ She ran back towards the house, leaving the picked strawberries unattended.

* * *

Hayate didn't have a hard time cleaning himself off. He flew back to his home in Leafania to change. He had a hard time forcing his heart to beat back to normal. Well, this time, it wasn't beating that fast. _Today. I will tell her today_. He changed into his normal causal attire and headed back to the other side. Hayate went to the fountain pond and found the strawberries. No Himeno. Feeling kind of disappointed, he decided to have some without her. With the power of the wind, he lifted the strawberries out and rinsed them in the fountain. _God, she was going to make me eat unwashed strawberries. What a tulip-head indeed._ The smell of strawberries was intoxicating. Hayate didn't usually like sweets, but he made an exception with strawberries. He was about to put one in his mouth when he heard a loud no in the distance.

"NOOO!," Himeno wailed out. He was going to eat one without her. _How dare he!_ In her fit of rage, she threw the can of whipped cream at Hayate. Direct bulls eye in the face. The can of cream released an uncontrolled stream of its white content on impact. Hayate had cream all over him. Himeno ran over with a more horrified look. First the blueberries and now this. Hayate is going to resent me. Hayate laid on the ground beside the basket of strawberries. His head hurt so very much.

Hayate moaned at the thought of strawberry that didn't reach his mouth. _That really really hurt. Oh well, I deserved it for trying to eat without her._ Hayate's blurry vision began to focus. Himeno's face was right over his. She was wiping the cream off his face. "Hayate, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get the cream all over you. I didn't think the can would spray it when I threw it at you." She continued on," Still, it wasn't polite to start without me." Himeno was looking at him with angry eyes. She placed her hand where the can hit," Does it hurt?" Her eyes changed to a cute concern expression. _She smells like strawberries. Smells delicious_. "Strawberries taste a lot better with cream, Hayate," she said while smiling. Hayate perched himself up in a sitting position. He leaned towards Himeno and smiled. He didn't know what came over him. His true feelings for her swept the nervousness aside. _This is the perfect moment. Just say it_. Hayate brushed some cream off his face using his top side of his hand, getting some on his fingers. _Go for it. Show her that you're somewhat of a romantic._ He leaned even closer and gently said to Himeno, "If strawberries taste a lot better with cream, then this should be enough." His placed some cream on her lips and brought his face close to hers. Himeno stared blankly at him, as if in shock. "The only strawberry I want is you, Himeno. I love you." Hayate kissed her for the second time. He found out this strawberries tasted incredibly good with some cream on top.

_I can't believe it. Hayate is kissing me! And he told me that he loves me! What a lucky day it is._ Himeno was all giddy inside. She didn't care that her face was getting smeared with cream on it. She was so happy. The kiss seemed to last an eternity before it broke. Himeno blushed at what had happened. Hayate picked up a strawberry and put some cream on it. Himeno grabbed it from him and popped in her mouth. She gave him a big smile.

Hayate just sighed at what happened. Himeno was Himeno after all. Himeno sprayed some cream on her hand and wiped it on his face. Then she gave him a teddy bear hug that pushed him to the ground. He was lying on his grass again, smiling at the princess who was lying on top of him. She looked at him, full of life and energy. "Blueberries taste good with cream too. And I love Hayate very much," she said out loud. With that, she kissed her beloved wind knight, her blueberry.

* * *

Story written on June 22, 2004 by KeyQuis

Author's notes: I can't believe I wrote something like that XD. I'm one for humour and the stuff Hayate said at the end was like a super pick-up line or something. I do feel kind of bad for making Hayate get injured. The can in the face is pretty hilarious. Ah well, it ended very sweetly. Sappy?I dunno . There's a happy ending for the cute couple. Heheh, I will make another ending in the winter season. Summer is here and I don't want to push Christmas that fast.


End file.
